SAN DIEGO — Prosecutors won't be able to use the results of lie
detector tests at the trial of a sexually violent predator who
wants to be released from a hospital back into San Diego, a judge
ruled Thursday.

Douglas Badger, 63, has a 20-year history of kidnapping and
sexually assaulting male hitchhikers.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a sexual assault in
Riverside County in 1981, and after being released he was sentenced
to another 10 years following a 1991 conviction for an attack in
San Diego County.

Since getting out of prison for that conviction, he has been
incarcerated in a mental hospital because he has been diagnosed as
schizophrenic, said his attorney, Richard Gates.

In a civil trial set to begin tomorrow, Badger wants Superior
Court Judge David Gill to release him from Atascadero State
Hospital on an outpatient basis, under close supervision.

Gates said that if Badger were released, authorities could use
polygraph tests to ensure he was not committing more crimes.

But prosecutor Kristen Spieler said experts would testify that
the tests are no longer reliable for Badger because he may have
fooled polygraph examiners in the past, and that if officials can't
give Badger polygraphs in the future, it may affect their ability
to supervise him.

Gill ruled the results of previous lie detector tests were
inadmissible in his upcoming trial.

Badger was set to be released in July, but a different judge
rescinded the order when it was revealed that one of Badger's
psychologists had an affair with another sexually violent
predator.

On Nov. 9, Gill ruled Badger was still a danger to the public
and ordered him returned to Atascadero for two years.

Officials at Atascadero are recommending that Badger be released
back into San Diego, where he committed some of his crimes.

"Mr. Badger is as psychiatrically stable and sound Thursday as
he's ever been," Gates told reporters outside court. "He has dealt
with the disappointment of the order being rescinded. He utilized
the therapeutic techniques that were taught to him at
Atascadero."

Gates said Badger told him that going through treatment at
Atascadero was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Badger, several doctors and Atascadero staff are expected to
testify in the trial, which is expected to last about two
weeks.